Do over
by kane alexis
Summary: Living once again can sound like a boon but is it really? Will Naruto, Sasuke and Shika be able to overcome the pain of seeing their dead loved ones? Will they destroy the flow of time? Or will it lead to a better future?Only time will tell...
1. Chapter 1

Do over

Author's notes: This is my very first fan fiction, so please be considerate and if any mistakes are found, just point them out and I'll correct them. Constructive criticism is welcome and appreciated.

This story does not have any romantic pairing.

Disclaimer: Naruto and all its characters belong to Kishimoto, not me.

The river of time is mighty yet very delicate, it does not pause neither does it rewind, it only moves forward. Relentlessly. Continuously. Uncaringly. But when someone tries to breach this powerful river, what will happen? Will it pause in its relentless course or will it try to banish the very existence of that certain someone? Only time will tell….

Chapter 1

The rain kept falling. It came down in torrents, almost like a curtain of water descending from the heavens. Some would say it looked beautiful but a certain young blonde disagreed as he gazed down upon the graves of friends.

Some say that rain are the tears of angels mourning for the loss of good beings from face of earth but as Naruto Uzumaki cried , he wondered if their grief would come close to the grief he was feeling. He didn't think so.

Cerulean eyes dulled by grief shifted to stare at the battlefield; Naruto shuddered as he took in the sight of the blood soaked ground and quickly averted his eyes and found himself once again staring at the graves. As his gaze went over each grave, the image of each of his friend, bloody and in pain, appeared in his mind.

Tears welled in his eyes once again but before he could break down, he deliberately turned away and retraced his steps to meet his only 2 surviving friends- Sasuke Uchiha and Shikamaru Nara.

As he walked, his thoughts wandered to the past events – 3 months back the 5 nations had stood together to defeat Madara . They battled hard and long and 2 days back they had won. But the cost of that victory was too high. All his precious bonds had perished. His beloved village was now no more. Only the 3 of them survived. Now he no longer knew what to do. He had never expected victory to be so….._empty._

Naruto stopped in front of a cave and stepped inside. Inside a fire crackled and his 2 friends sat around it.

Both of them looked up as he entered

"Where have you been, dobe?" the raven head asked, concern evident in his obsidian eyes.

"Relax Sasuke, at least give him a chance to explain himself" Shika drawled.

Naruto didn't reply instead sat down near Sasuke, closed his eyes and leaned on his shoulder. Though he could not see Sasuke's face, Naruto felt the tension leave the was proved right when Sasuke sighed

"Damn it! Naruto, don't scare us like that"

"Yeah" Shika chimed in "you were supposed to be back hours ago, what took you so long? And…" the Nara hesitated but continued "did you speak to kurama?"

Instead of answering, Naruto opened his eyes and observed his friends. both shika and sasuke looked drained which was natural considering the war but apart from that they seemed fine, at least that's what most people would say but naruto was not 'most people' and could easily see that the pain of loss and grief was etched into their eyes and souls.

Naruto took a deep breath and straightened, then replied, his voice soft

"Yes, yes I did"

Both his friends stilled, momentarily forgetting about the former part of their question.

"And he said that he can perform the jutsu"

He paused to see what effect his word would have.

Sasuke drew in a sharp breath and his skin became paler, if such a thing was possible, his mouth hung open unceremoniously. Shika, on the other hand, on hearing this sat up abruptly, thus hitting his head on the low ceiling.

Despite himself naruto giggled, for which he immediately received a smack on the head from Sasuke.

"Ow! What was that for?" naruto whined, rubbing his head.

"For being a callous idiot" came the reply. Shika just sighed and grinned.

The light atmosphere shattered when Naruto stopped grinning and spoke in a serious voice

"Kurama says he can perform it provided we don't have ANY doubts about it at all "

Seeing his friend's puzzled expressions, Naruto held up his hand.

"I think it will be better if I let Kurama explain" he said.

Sasuke and Shika nodded, closed their eye and sat in a meditation pose.

Naruto placed a hand on each of his friend's shoulder and closed his eyes.

In a moment, he was in his mind's landscape. The landscape resembled a beautiful valley with a vast multitude of flowers, a calm lake flowed by and the air had a scent of crushed pines. In the centre stood a solitary elm tree swaying to the notes of an untold melody.

It was under this tree that the 3 of them saw the ancient appeared to be resting.

"Kurama" Naruto's voice pierced the stillness "we're here"

Kurama opened one of his eyes and rumbled

"Back so soon? I thought you were going to stand in the rain and stare at your friend's remains for at least another day"

Naruto scratched his head in embarrassment as his friends looked at him enquiringly.

"After talking with furball here, there was just so much to think about …..so I went there to clear my head "Naruto finished sheepishly.

"And to brood" the kitsune helpfully added.

"Shut up, damn it!"Naruto growled

"Naruto "Shika started before the bickering could escalate any further "You don't have to look for excuses to visit our friends, you can do so anytime"

"Yeah, just don't do so for long uninterrupted time periods, or I'll skewer you" Sasuke smirked.

Naruto smiled and was about to say something when Kurama interrupted him:

"Brat, aren't you here for something or did you have a random urge to have a party with me?"

Naruto rolled his eyes and was about to retort back when Sasuke butted in

"We really don't have time for your bickering, dobe"

"Fine" Naruto said grouchily" furball, tell them that we have a chance to save our friends ….by travelling through time"


	2. argument

A/N: Hey guys, I've come to realize that my last chapter was too short and uninformative, so I've tried to make this chapter the opposite of the first one. If any errors are found, please do inform me, I'll correct them immediately. Constructive criticism is welcome and appreciated.

"_Naruto"-_refers to flashbacks

This story does not have any romantic pairing.

Disclaimer: Naruto and all its characters belong to Kishimoto, not me.

Previous:

"Fine" Naruto said grouchily" furball, tell them that we have a chance to save our friends ….by travelling through time"

* * *

Chapter 2

Kurama opened both his eyes and regarded each of them carefully before speaking "yes, what the brat says is true, the jutsu that I told you about earlier…I can perform it…." The fox demon seemed to hesitate but continued "…but there are some conditions which must be met for the process to be successful"

"But didn't you say that this technique was too old and without sufficient explanatory data for you to use it" Sasuke asked quietly, not meeting the ancient demon's eyes.

Naruto closed his eyes and hoped that his partner would be wise enough to restrain himself. After all, Kurama was very _very_ old and weren't old people supposed to be wise?

Kurama fixed his amber eyes on the Uchiha and growled

"Yes, I do remember saying that but then how could I forget, after you, not so subtly, accused me of orchestrating the death of your comrades. Still want to destroy me, brat? Or did someone beat some sense into you?"

Apparently not.

Shika just sighed. He was hoping to avoid this situation but clearly the fates had decided to abandon him…again.

But honestly speaking, he couldn't fault the ancient demon. After all he had been there when the fight had broken out and he remembered every single detail, partly because of the fight itself and partly because ….because it happened right after they had won but yet lost.

He remembered the scene vividly,

"_The scent of blood permeated the air, corpses covered the ground and blood saturated the soil. A strange stillness hung over the battlefield._

_The only voice that pierced this stillness came from Naruto as he sobbed quietly._

_The normally stoic Uchiha sat on the ground, not moving, not speaking or blinking. He had become a living corpse._

_Shika just stared; he could feel the presence of the ones he had slaughtered, he could feel their accusing stares, their blood stained faces, their dead eyes as they taunted him. But he didn't close his eyes he simply stared. _

_Silence reigned._

"_Wait…..'silence'?" his mind questioned "but …..then….." Shika whipped his head around to find Naruto, without waiting for the thought to finish. _

_He found his leader exactly where he had been, Shika breathed a sigh of relief," but something is different" his mind whispered. He decided to satisfy his mind and once again turned to Naruto._

_Naruto had stopped sobbing and was staring into space with a puzzled expression._

"_Naruto" Shika inquired, tentatively "what is the matter?"_

_He turned his face to face Shika and whispered, his voice hoarse_

"_Its Kurama….he wants to speak to us" _

_Shika frowned. What did Kurama want? And why now, so soon after the battle? _

_Something wasn't right._

"_Naruto, did he say anything?" Shika prodded_

_The young blonde shook his head._

"_Sasuke, what do you have to say about this?" Shika asked, turning to him._

_The raven head remained unmoving. Shika sighed and ran a hand through his locks._

"_Looks like he's out for the count, I'll deal with him later but for now…"_

"_Naruto, can you call him out? Or are you too drained?"_

_Naruto, instead of replying, began performing the required hand signs. Almost immediately a Shadow clone popped into existence beside him but this particular clone was different; it had red hair and amber eyes._

_Kurama straightened and stretched with ease _

"_Aaah…it feels good to be able to move" he said, with a satisfied air._

"_Did you come here just to test the flexibility of my body, furball?" Naruto asked dryly._

" _You call this flexibility, brat?" Kurama snorted" even a piece of cardboard has more grace than you!"_

_Naruto glared at him._

"_Flea infested mutt!"_

"_Idiot!"_

"_Egoistical bastard!"_

"_Immature jerk!"_

"_Tail licking diabolical–"_

_Shika butted in before he had to endure anymore of their creative name calling._

"_Stop it, you two! You guys can bicker all you want when you're not exhausted and drained and when I'm not near enough to hear you two!" Shika finished._

_Naruto grumbled and stuck out his tongue at Kurama who just rolled his eyes in reply._

_Despite himself Shika smiled at their antics, it had been too long since he had seen his leader smile like that. War had destroyed their life too much. Too many losses. Too much pain._

_He snapped back when Naruto's voice pierced his thoughts,_

"_So furball, why are you here? I thought you were too tired to speak to me after the battle?"_

_Kurama sighed_

"_You're right, I was drained but while sleeping I found something…." It didn't seem possible, but the 9000yr-old demon seemed to hesitate "brat…..I think I might have found a way to save your comrades" Kurama finished looking Naruto in the eye._

_Almost immediately, all playfulness disappeared from Naruto's face, his visage took on the sickly shade of a corpse._

_But surprisingly it was Shika who lost control._

"_Do you think we're puppets? That we don't have any emotions? Or are you just toying with us?" Shika trembled with fury._

"_Shika" Naruto spoke quietly but firmly "calm down"_

_The Nara turned his bloodshot eyes to meet ocean blue ones, swirling with pain and tears and just like that his anger left him. He clenched his fist but managed to calm down._

_The blonde turned to look at his red haired partner, who remained passive_

"_Kurama, what do you mean? Please don't joke around with me, alright? Can you really do it?"_

_A single tear slid down his cheek._

_A storm of emotions passed through the amber orbs until they settled on one: Resolve._

"_I'm not sure brat but if you agree I'm willing to do it" he finished._

"_What exactly is this 'way' that you found?"Shika asked, his eyes still burning._

"_I may have found a certain jutsu which will allow us to travel to the past" Kurama lifted his eyes when he finished._

_Shika stumbled with surprise while Naruto looked like he might faint. Even the Uchiha broke out of his trance to stare at the red head._

"_But that's impossible" Shika finally managed to say._

_A ghost of a smile flitted across Kurama's lips "there are many advantages to living as long as I have, kid"_

"_But how…?" Naruto asked, his voice fragile._

_Kurama shrugged" I am not really sure, but if I had to wager a guess I'd say I picked it off from an era that existed far before yours; the era of rikudo sennin and because its so old I probably forgot about it"_

"_You _forgot_about a time travel jutsu?"Shika queried, astonishment clear in his voice._

_Kurama huffed "you think it's easy keeping track of memories worth almost 9000 yrs, do you? Add to that the dreams we tailed beasts see, it hinders our memory, I tell you! And then- "_

"_Kurama" Naruto stared at him pointedly._

"_Oh right…so what I meant was that this jutsu is _old_, even older than me" the old kitsune acknowledged._

"_But you said you're not sure, what did you mean? Can you save them or not?" Naruto asked, his face emotionless but his eyes betrayed his raw longing._

_The ancient demon pursed his lips,_

"_I said that because I can't find any data regarding its nature plus the jutsu itself is very old , therefore I'm not sure if it can-"_

"_Shut up, demon"_

_Both Naruto and Shika snapped their heads around to find the source._

_It was Sasuke. His sharingan swirled and he trembled with rage._

"_Shut up before I destroy you" he spat._

_Taken aback, Kurama merely blinked._

"_What's the matter, beast? Cat got your tongue?" the raven head taunted._

_Kurama's left eye began to twitch, Naruto, knowing what this meant, jumped in between and said,_

"_Sasuke, calm down lets hear him-"_

_But Sasuke grabbed his shoulder and leaned in close,_

"_-and what, Naruto? Don't you see? He doesn't care about you at all. He is a DEMON. He is just toying with us. In fact, I think he wants to kill us"_

_Naruto's eyes widened but before he could reply, he found himself being pushed out of the way by Kurama_

"_Why would you say that, Sasuke Uchiha?" kurama's voice was deadly calm, his amber eyes smoldering._

"_Exactly what I said, you probably wanted revenge for all those times humans fooled you, maybe you've never been our ally at all, maybe-"_

"_ ." red chakra swirled dangerously around Kurama_

"_NO I WON'T" Sasuke ground his teeth, his own chakra protecting him "Why else would you have told us of this jutsu, especially when you're not even sure it works"_

"_BECAUSE I CARE, DAMN IT!"Kurama growled" You're letting your pain blind you, fool! Why would I destroy the first person in ages to accept me?"_

_A flicker of doubt passed through the raven head's eyes but it quickly disappeared._

"_But you're not sure you can perform it, isn't it? For all your wisdom you could end up killing us"_

"_Kill you?" Kurama snorted "in case you haven't noticed, you are already dead" he looked Sasuke in the eye "in your heart"_

_Sasuke let out a growl and moved forward, Kurama tensed._

_But before the brawl could start, Naruto and Shika threw themselves in between._

"_Calm down, Sasuke" Shika chided, placing himself in front of the raven head._

_Kurama didn't try to resist when Naruto said_

"_Please leave us, Kurama"_

_Naruto held up a hand when Sasuke growled._

"_None of us are ready for this. Kurama, leave, I'll talk to you tomorrow"_

_Without bothering to reply, Kurama nodded and disappeared, his crimson chakra fading away._

_Shika sighed "this is so troublesome"_

_Sasuke scowled at the spot where the ancient kitsune had stood._

_But before Naruto or Shika could say anything, Sasuke wrenched himself out of the Nara's grasp and did something very un-Uchiha; he fled._

_It was almost funny to see the normally calm Uchiha stomping his way to the forest that surrounded them. _

_Shika was preparing to follow when he felt a hand on his shoulder._

"_Let him be, Shika" the blonde said, appearing exhausted "pain can do strange things to people"_

_Shika took a deep breath "I guess you're right" and grinned_

"_Since when did you become so wise, Naruto?"_

"_Hey! It's not my fault you were late in comprehending my great intellect" Naruto said good naturedly._

_Shika smiled, Naruto never failed to amuse him._

_He turned his gaze upward,_

"_And what about Kurama?" he enquired._

"_Like I said, I'll talk to him but not now, maybe tomorrow, for now let's just find shelter. It looks like its going to rain." Blue eyes looked up to the skies._

"_As for Sasuke…."_

_The blonde turned to stare at the forest,_

"_He just needs some time alone, he'll be back to his grouchy self by tomorrow" Naruto smiled sadly._

_Shika sighed and wondered how many more times he would have to sigh, it was getting troublesome._

Shika hoped that he wouldn't have to witness a repeat performance. The fight had drained all four of them, both physically and psychologically, thus, following Naruto's advice, the 2 of them had set camp near by and waited for their comrade.

After hours of waiting, Sasuke finally showed up, but even then it took both of their combined efforts to placate him completely. By morning, Sasuke was back to normal or as Naruto liked to put it-'the ice princess is back!' Shortly after, Naruto left to speak with Kurama and now here they were.

The lazy genius sighed for the umpteenth time and wondered if he should just ignore his 2 troublesome comrades.

But what happened next shook him out of his musings.

"I am sorry" a quiet voice whispered.

Everyone, including the ancient demon, stared at the raven head, their pupils dilating to almost comical proportions.

"HE APOLOGIZED?! SASUKE SAID SORRY!?"

Naruto was practically screaming now,

"AAAAAAH!THE WORLD IS GOING TO END!"

"Shut up, dobe!" Sasuke muttered, flustered, "I can apologize too you know!"

Naruto, instead of replying, marched up to his rival/friend and glared at him,

"Alright, who are you and what did you do with the real Sasuke?"

"I AM THE REAL SASUKE, IDIOT!"

Before Naruto could reply, Shika butted in,

"Guys, that's enough, I think we've relieved enough tension for now" Sasuke sighed" but , I have to say, Sasuke, that was pretty uncharacteristic of you"

Kurama, who was rolling his eyes till now, now straightened up,

Sasuke sighed yet again "last night after I came back, I remembered something, and that helped me to see my mistake"

Sasuke ignored naruto's knowing and shika's curious glances and instead raised his onyx eyes to meet the amber ones of the fox and spoke,

"Kurama, I admit I was wrong, it won't happen again"

Amber eyes regarded onyx ones and suddenly laughed out loud,

"Even after 9000 yrs, you humans still surprise me"

"Fine, brat, I forgive you but don't repeat it!" the red fox grinned fierily.

Naruto grinned his trademark grin and Shika sighed, while Sasuke remained stoic; things were back to normal.

"So Kurama, mind telling us about that jutsu now that we've resolved all our issues?" Naruto said patting Kurama's fur.

The fox in question swatted away his hand and glared at Naruto,

"In case you've forgotten, it wasn't me who caused the delay, brat!"

The blonde just grinned cheekily. Shika was once again was forced to intervene,

"Guys, could you please stop your bickering-"

"WE ARE NOT BICKERING!"

Kurama sighed and spoke;

"The Nara kid's got a point, we really don't have much time left "

Kurama let out a surge of chakra when he saw the 3 about to intervene,

"Don't interrupt me, brats, because I am going to tell you everything I know about …about the time flicker jutsu"

* * *

Pls don't kill me! I'm really sorry for the late update; it's just that I'm really busy with my graduation going on and driving lessons, so pls do forgive me, guys. I'll try to update as soon as I can but no promises.

And sorry for not advancing the story, I really wanted to but in my opinion, decisions like travelling to the past require a lot of contemplation and so I had no choice but to extend the chapter, and I'm sorry to say we won't be going to the past till chapter 4, so pls be chapter will explain all about this jutsu's vague history and yes, about its _certain_ conditions and of course drawbacks.

Thnx 4 reading! Do review!

Btw- any guesses as to what might have changed sasuke's heart?


	3. Time flicker jutsu

CHAPTER-3

A/N: Hey guys! Sorry for taking so long but like I said I was kind of busy.

If any errors are found, please do inform me, I'll correct them immediately. Constructive criticism is welcome and appreciated.

Italicized words indicate emphasis.

All information regarding body flicker technique and flying thunder god technique was obtained through narutopedia.

This story does not have any romantic pairing.

Disclaimer: Naruto and all its characters belong to Kishimoto, not me.

* * *

Previous:

Kurama let out a surge of chakra when he saw the 3 about to intervene,

"Don't interrupt me, brats, because I am going to tell you everything I know about …about the time flicker jutsu"

* * *

"Time flicker jutsu?" Shika spoke up, "is it, by any chance, similar to the body flicker technique?"

"Body flicker technique?" Naruto queried, confusion evident in his eyes, "what's that?"

Sasuke turned to his friend, incredulity evident in his obsidian eyes,

"Are you telling me that you became the rokudaime without knowing about such a common technique?"

"Yep" came the bright reply.

"You really are a true idiot, baka" came the not-so-bright reply.

Before his teammates could start a _verbal disagreement_ (Sasuke's words, not his), Shika decided he would have to intervene. Again.

"Sasuke" the Nara began" let him off the hook would you, you heard what Kurama said, we don't have time"

The last Uchiha grumbled but faithfully shut up.

"And Naruto" the lazy genius continued "the body flicker technique is a high speed technique that allows a ninja to move short to long distances at an almost untraceable speed"

"Huh?" was Naruto's intelligent reply.

"Dobe, he means that this technique basically lets you move from place to place at great speed" the raven head supplied.

Naruto blinked,

"Really, that's all? But what does that have to do with time travel?"

Shika opened his mouth to answer but closed it almost immediately; he remembered his unanswered question.

"So finally remembered, eh, brat?" a deep voice spoke, "that you still don't know a thing about the very same thing you came to know about!"

Naruto scratched his hair, embarrassment evident in his gesture,

"Sorry Kurama we kind of forgot about you"

The ancient kitsune rolled his eyes,

"What part of 'don't interrupt' did you not understand? Didn't I already tell you that we don't have time?"

This time all 3 had the grace to look sheepish.

Kurama sighed, "fine, I'll start again but if you interrupt again-"

"Aw, c'mon Kurama, it was just once, we don't do it again! promise!" Naruto coaxed in a childish voice.

The ancient demon just shook his giant head at the blonde's antics.

"As for your question, Nara, the answer is no, they are not similar, the time flicker jutsu may seem to bear semblance to the body flicker technique but in fact it is to the flying thunder god technique that it bears an uncanny resemblance"

"Flying thunder god technique, huh?" the lazy genius seemed to ponder over it before nodding,

"Yes, I see the connection"

Naruto stared at his intelligent friend, wondering if he had finally snapped,

"See what, Shika?"

Even the normally stoic Uchiha was peering at the pineapple head curiously, trying to be subtle but failing miserably. But before either of could say anything, Kurama interrupted,

"As expected of the Nara _and_ the idiots"

Before the indignant yells and grunts could assault his ears, the ancient kitsune continued,

"The flying thunder god technique makes use of a special seal or technique formula to mark an intended destination, after which the user can enter a dimensional void at will that instantaneously transports them to the location of the , your father was known for this technique, Naruto."

A spark of recognition flared in the blue orbs, before nodding at his partner to continue,

"This technique is able to affect anything that is in contact with the user or somehow connected to their chakra, the time flicker jutsu essentially revolves around the same concept"

"Can you elaborate?" the raven head asked, though a little hesitant at having to ask assistance.

This time it was Shika who answered,

"The flying thunder god technique, simply put, allows the user to transport himself/herself to the desired location where the user has _already _implanted a seal or _a piece of his/her chakra, in other words the chakra left in the form of the technique seal acts as a kind of anchor allowing the user to easily use the dimensional void_, isn't that right, Kurama?"

The lazy genius turned to the fox, who simply nodded,

"The time flicker jutsu works similarly, except that here the desired location is not limited by the reins of time or in other words the user can make himself/herself appear in both the past and the future, where-ever the user finds more similar chakra"

As expected, puzzled expressions met his gaze, instead of replying, Kurama turned to the Nara,

"Brat, think you got this part?"

Shika sighed,

"I'm not sure but I think your statement means that the user cannot just time travel anywhere and in any period he/she wishes to, the user must have a counterpart chakra at the receiving point, which will perform the same job as the technique seal"

Kurama nodded and elaborated,

"One can travel only to those era where one has his/her own chakra acting as the anchor, the more similar the chakra is, the more efficient the entire process would be"

"But Kurama, that doesn't exactly limit the technique, does it? I mean we could always use ancestors from our clan as this anchor" Naruto queried.

"Yes, we could, but you forgot my last statement _the more similar the chakra is, the more efficient the entire process would be" _

The blonde in question cocked his head and after a moments thought answered,

"So what you're saying is that if we use an ancestor's chakra signature, we may not succeed?"

His partner snorted,

"That's the mild way of putting it, time travel is-"

The giant bijuu paused as if to emphasize his point, his amber eyes darkening,

"-is not something to be messed about with, without proper knowledge and implementation, one could very well end up losing his/her soul in the vast currents of time , there have been many who have attempted this particular jutsu who became crippled for life or worse."

The ancient kitsune paused when he noticed that Naruto looked thoughtful,

"Brat, what is it? Do you have a question?"

Naruto blinked at having been caught but recovered,

"Kurama, remember you told me that we should have no doubts if we wish to time travel? While I didn't understand half of what you said-"

This elicited a bored grunt from the fox demon,

"-I think I understand now what you meant."

Sky blue orbs raised themselves to meet the gaze of amber ones,

"It is to make our chakra stronger, right? To make our chakra signature more defined and stable enough to travel through the currents of time, right?"

This time _all_ 3 of his friends stared at him as if he had sprouted a second head, even the lazy genius looked startled, which was astounding considering the fact that the only time the guy had showed any strong emotion was when he had been assigned to babysit the nursery kids, aka:_ the children from hell_ (courtesy from Tsunade for being too indifferent)

"What? What in the world are you guys staring at?" the oblivious blonde asked.

This snapped all 3 of them out of their reverie,

"Nothing is wrong, brat; we were just surprised that you said something intelligent.

"_For once_" the avenger thought and smirked.

The rokudaime just puffed out his cheeks, and glared at them.

Kurama continued, effectively ignoring his partner,

"Yes, what Naruto said was right, but I'll elaborate once gain: the currents of time are strong and if you have any doubts in your resolve, your chakra will be unstable and thus so will be the process, but there's one more reason to maintain a strong resolve but before that, let me ask you something-will your chakra signature and that of your younger or older self be the same or will it be different?"

The question seemed to surprise the young shinobi but nevertheless Shika spoke up, albeit a little hesitantly,

"I guess, since chakra signature is used as an effective means of identification, the chakra signature will remain the same for the person regardless of the age or state"

"What about you, Uchiha?"

"I think only the quantity may vary but essentially I agree with Shika, it will be the same"

Kurama considered them carefully before turning to Naruto,

"And you, Naruto?"

The said blonde scratched his head and replied,

"I don't know anything about these chakra signatures, but I do know that when I was younger my chakra was darker, almost sinister, different from now, so my answer is that it will be different."

Naruto was kind of surprised when he raised his eyes to find amber ones staring at him with a strange emotion peeking through.

Almost immediately Kurama raised his eyes, leaving Naruto to wonder "_was that…pride?"_

"Although all of you are right in some regards, it is Naruto who gave the right answer"

Seeing the questioning glances, Kurama continued,

"You see, it is true that that a person's chakra remains essentially the same during his lifetime but like Naruto said _our chakra is affected by our emotions, _although it is not a major change, so shinobi continue to find chakra signature reliable in identification, but this jutsu is a fine tuned technique, hence this jutsu does takes this point into consideration"

"Now the reason I said to strengthen your resolve was to make sure that you don't get _stuck"_

Once gain finding confused expressions meeting his gaze, Kurama continued,

"According to what I said, the chakra natures of yours and your younger self will be slightly different, now, suppose you perform the jutsu and find a suitable chakra and you start the process,_ you will be using a slightly different chakra as your anchor_, which would lead to instability and suppose you have doubts in between, what would happen? "

He paused slightly before continuing,

"Your being, which is in the process of teleportation, will get confused between the desired location and the present, meaning, you lose your self, forever"

"So we have to be utterly confident of our intentions downright to our thoughts?"Shika asked.

The ancient bijuu nodded,

"There is one more danger that you must be aware of: when you time travel, you can end up anywhere, depending upon where you find the similar chakra and once you do reach somewhere you have to conquer that slightly different chakra of your past self to match your current one"

"Meaning if the host has weak body we have to train to make it stronger?"

"No, you just have to _match the types_ not the amount; if your past emotions are darker then you will have to get rid of this darkness and establish _your _chakra instead. Light and dark cannot coexist."

"And what if we don't succeed?"

"Two selves cannot stay in 1 body; one of them will cease to exist"

"So if I get transferred to my 25 yr old self, I have to take over his, I mean _my,_ body?"

"Essentially yes"

"And what would happen to our present selves?"

"That is still unknown, whether you will disappear or will your time period will remain stagnant, nobody's really sure. This is an ancient, almost non existent jutsu, after all."

All 3 shinobi remained silent, absorbing this new piece of information,

"But this technique finds matching chakra on its own,right?so what if we get sent to the future instead, wouldn't that beat the whole purpose?"

"It would have,but this technique allows you to specify your choice regarding the time period using specified hand seals"

Shika, who had been silent all this time, spoke up,

"But why haven't the people of the past used such a powerful technique?"

Kurama was quick to reply,

"Every action WILL have an opposite reaction; no power comes without a price, your ancestors chose to have faith in the future than to change the course of time, and more importantly nobody's sure if it _has_ been used"

He paused to let his words sink in,

"No one knows who created it, besides its hand seals and vague assumptions, nothing about it is clear, it is truly shrouded in darkness, so I ask you again; are you sure of your paths?"

Uncertainty flashed in 3 pairs of eyes but almost immediately they hardened into one emotion; determination.

"We are going to bring peace to the ninja world; we are going to save everyone, we are shinobi of the allied shinobi force, something as trivial as a time travel jutsu isn't going to stop us!" Naruto grinned.

"You are too loud Naruto but you're right, this is not the time for doubts" Sasuke added with his trademark smirk working full time.

"Its going to be troublesome but I can't just let you knuckle heads go on your own, now can I?"Shika chimed in.

"Now that we've got that part cleared, Kurama, when are we going to do it?" the blonde practically yelled.

"Brats... war sure hasn't worn down your cockiness" Kurama grumbled but his eyes betrayed him; amusement danced within them.

"This jutsu requires the users to be close to their _real_ self and that's why I said that we have to hurry, one is closest to one's real self only when one is close to death, only truly wise humans are aware of this, your brother belonged to those few, Uchiha"

Sasuke looked away at this,

"Well, why are you surprised, furball? Itachi was one of the greatest heroes the leaf ever had; of course he would be awesome! Right, Sasuke?"Naruto asked, grinning.

Sasuke held his best friend's gaze for a moment before smirking,

"Of course Dobe, he _was_ a proud member of the Uchiha clan after all"

Shika smiled to himself, people called him a genius, but he could never compete with Naruto's aptitude to make people feel warmth, to make them come together; Naruto truly possessed a strange but precious gift.

"Since all of you have seen death many times in this war and felt the grief and utter desolation death brings, I think all of us are well in sync with our real self but we have to hurry; time is the greatest healer and the more time passes, the more you forget your real self"

Kurama continued,

"So we're going to do it tonight,precisely at midnight, before you ask, its going to be at midnight because midnight is the time when a new day begins, new hope arises,its the perfect time for such an important jutsu"

Kurama stood up,

"Now leave and wait for me at your comrade's graves tonight a few minutes before midnight, don't disturb me till then"

The 3 shinobi nodded before dismissing themselves.

…...

_A few hours later, 5 minutes left for midnight:_

Naruto stared at his friend's graves,

"_This time I will not fail, I promise…"_

His two comrades stared at the graves, each vowing silently to protect what they couldn't in the past.

_Two minutes remaining….._

"Guys, Kurama wants to speak, I'm changing with him"

Naruto closed his eyes, when he opened them, they were amber colored.

"Brats, quick, arrange yourselves in a circle and hold your hands"

Seeing their sudden embarrassment, he rolled his eyes,

"Make it quick! I'm not asking you to marry each other; I'm asking you to hold your hands! And listen; don't let go, no matter what, NO MATTER WHAT!"

Seeing them nod, Kurama continued,

"And don't worry about the hand seals, I'll be performing them and I'll be the one supplying the main chakra, I'll be using yours too but not in large amounts"

He paused for breath, then continued,

"You guys just close your eyes and brace yourselves, when you open them next time, you might not find each other, but don't panic; my chakra will ensure that all of you will end up in the same timeline"

_One minute remaining…._

"I 'm going to change back with Naruto, don't forget about what I said! And concentrate!"

Blue eyes blinked, then immediately closed, he tightened his hold and concentrated.

_30 seconds remaining…._

Shika felt Kurama's crimson chakra envelop him; he could feel Kurama perform the hand seals,

"_Mi, tora, tatsu, ushi, ne…"_

_10 seconds remaining….._

Sasuke could feel the jutsu developing, he could feel its strength flowing through him.

"_Itachi, I'll save you…"_

_5 seconds remaining….._

In the back of his head, Naruto felt something, a sound;

Pitter patter pitter patter…..

"_Rain?...this time I'll make them tears of joy not of pain, I'll save them….I'll save them all"_

_1 second remaining…._

A blinding light lightened up the night sky, as if a young star was falling from the skies, determined to forge his own path.

A moment later, peace ensued; the graves rang with silence,

And then they were no more.

The rain kept falling, forming a gorgeous curtain yet again.

* * *

Sorry if this chapter is a bit boring, it had to be done.

Next chapter will be in the past, finally!

Thanks for reading!


	4. WHAT!

A/N: **I thank all those people who took the time to read my story and especially those who reviewed/favorite-d/followed my story!**

**A special thanks to corgi12, april7000222 and .kitten for their reviews!**

If any errors are found, please do inform me, I'll correct them immediately. Constructive criticism is welcome and appreciated.

Italicized words indicate emphasis/thoughts.

This story does not have any romantic pairing.

Disclaimer: Naruto and all its characters belong to Kishimoto, not me.

* * *

_Previous:_

_And then they were no more._

_The rain kept falling, forming a gorgeous curtain yet again._

* * *

CHAPTER-4

* * *

_Naruto's side:_

Cold. He was dreadfully cold.

The cold gnawed at him. Naruto couldn't help but shudder as he floated passively.

"_Wait….? Floated?"_

Naruto woke with a start, azure eyes scanning his surroundings automatically.

Darkness. Pitch black darkness surrounded him, drowning his sense of sight. The place seemed to have no entrance or exit, it was a void. Invisible currents rocked his body back and forth.

But for some reason, he felt a thread of connection to this place.

"_It feels_ _familiar…but how?"_

Naruto extended his arms on both his sides and tried to feel his surroundings but to no avail.

"_Where am I….? What happened…?"_

But before his muddled brain could grasp anything, the currents suddenly grew stronger, drawing him along with it.

Now the darkness seemed sinister, it seemed to radiate coldness and despair. Then all of a sudden came blinding pain.

In the midst of the pain, his brain registered something, _voices_, he could hear them,

"_Demon brat!"_

"_It's that child….."_

"_Stay away from him….."_

"_Worthless…"_

The pain increased and so did the darkness, Naruto wrapped his hands around head and made himself as small as possible but the whispering didn't stop,

"_The third should get rid of him….."_

"_Ignore him…."_

"_Get lost, demon brat!"_

Naruto tightened his grip but the darkness was engulfing him, he was drowning. Pain flashed in his being, threatening to tear him apart.

Then suddenly it hit him.

"_This place seems familiar ….because this is my own mind!"_

Naruto let his hands fall to his side. He understood now. This was _his_ pain. His suffering. He had to overcome this.

Without opening his eyes, he willed the pain to leave him and gathered his chakra. The pain began to dull.

He opened his eyes and as if on cue, he found a young boy in front of him. The boy had blonde hair and blue eyes, darkness covered him. His eyes were dull, _empty_. It was him. Naruto Uzumaki.

As peculiar as it may sound, the moment he saw his younger self, he knew what he had to do.

Naruto stood up and walked towards his younger self, letting his own bright chakra drive away the darkness. He knelt I front of the child and embraced him.

The child began struggling and sobbing immediately.

Naruto just held him as the younger one calmed down. When he finally did, Naruto pulled back and gazed upon his younger self, he could see the fear etched there.

Naruto wiped away the tears of his younger self and whispered,

"It's alright, Naruto, you don't have to pretend anymore….I promise you, you will never be alone. Ever. You never have to be scared again."

The younger Naruto simply looked upon his older self and flashed a bright smile before disappearing.

"_I will be the strongest hokage ever! It's my dream! Dattebayo!"_

The 17-yr-old rokudaime felt a deep calm wash over him as he felt himself lose consciousness,

"_So this is what Kurama meant by conquering…huh?"_

…...

"BRAT! WAKE UP!"

A screeching sound reached his brain, effectively driving away his slumber.

"YOU DID THIS DIDN'T YOU?!"

Azure eyes opened to find an old lady standing in front of him.

Naruto blinked. The lady looked at least 50yrs old and had a really bitter expression, as if she had swallowed a really bitter concoction. She had an accusing look in her beady eyes as if _he_ was the one who had forced her to drink it.

All in all, she looked like any old hag would have IF her hair hadn't been dyed the color of rainbow and her face didn't have pictures of unicorns prancing in joy. Needless to say, the lady didn't look happy.

Naruto was torn between laughing at the silly sight and being horrified at the how ugly the old hag looked, so naturally he settled for both.

"AHA HAHAHAHA!"The blonde laughed, holding his stomach, "YOU LOOK SO UGLY! AHAHAHA"

Naruto who was now laughing hysterically didn't notice the dark aura the old woman was emitting,

"AND YOUR HAIR!IT LOOKS LIKE A-"

Suddenly a pair of shuriken swished past him and embedded themselves in the wall, missing his face by inches. Naruto gulped.

"Yes brat? What were you saying? My hair looks like what? Please do share your opinion with me, I'll be delighted to give you my reply" the dark aura continued to grow.

"Nothing! Aika-san-"

"_Wait… Aika-san? How did I….?"_

"-nothing at all! Your hair looks beautiful in that shade!"

This seemed to further aggravate the mad woman, for now she wielded _another_ pair of shuriken in her hands.

"_Seriously, when did potentially dangerous weapons become common property for potentially mad people?"_ Naruto wondered.

"You ruined my hair and my face!"She shouted "NOW HOW WILL YOU ATONE?!"

Naruto was just about to protest that he was being accused falsely when the memory of mixing colors in shampoo and leaving a wet imprint of unicorns on a towel infiltrated his mind.

"_So I _did_ do it but…when?"_

But before he could delve into this matter more closely, a pair of shuriken swished past him…._again_.

Naruto, obviously realizing that the woman in front of him was crazy, began slowly inching towards the door on the opposite side of the room they were currently in, in hopes of escaping, all the while smiling brightly in order to distract her.

"Um…..I could help you wash it off?"He offered weakly

Aika smiled sweetly, the dark aura continued to grow and she took a step forward.

So Naruto did the only sensible thing he could think of: he fled.

Bracing himself, he jumped to the door but to his surprise he couldn't reach the handle, his hands stopped short several inches below the handle.

"_What the…did I get shorter suddenly? But how…?"_

Before he could ponder upon his sudden lack of height, he heard a feral yell from behind him,

"COME BACK HERE, BRAT!"

He immediately jumped up, grabbed the handle and ran outside. The building had a lot of turns but Naruto was able to navigate through them easily. While he ran, he noticed two things: 1) his body was not only shorter but lighter and weaker as well.2) this building looked familiar, just like that old lady did.

Finally reaching outside Naruto stopped for breath and it was only then that he got a full view of the building he woke up in. He gasped.

"_This is my…my orphanage!"_

Naruto stared at the building which had housed him for 6 yrs and suddenly it made sense to him,

"_The jutsu was successful!I'm in the past!"_

"So that really was shuriken-Aika, huh?"Naruto muttered to himself "but then how did I remember her name so quickly? After all, it's been almost 10 yrs since I last saw her"

"And what about all those memories?"

It had almost seemed like his younger self had done it _for_ him.

"AAAAH!Thinking about all this is giving me a headache!"Naruto yelled, but brightened immediately

"I know!I can ask Shika! He will know for sure!"

Suddenly Naruto stilled,

"_Sasuke and Shika….."_

"AAAH!I forgot about them! Sasuke's never going to let this slide if he comes to know about it!"

"I must find them" Naruto was now walking along the streets, deep in thought," but where should I look? Hmm….the Park sounds reasonable"

Naruto was so lost in thought that he didn't notice that he had walked straight into a shop; he stumbled and fell,

"Oww!That hurt! Stupid shop!"He muttered as he rubbed his head.

Picking himself up he looked at the object he had bumped into; it was a mirror. Naruto gazed into it,

"I look quite handsome if I say so myself" he nodded to himself.

Suddenly he froze,

"No, it can't be, it's just my over active imagination"

He rubbed his eyes and looked once more.

And then he screamed.

…...

Sasuke's side:

Sasuke blinked open his eyes and then blinked again.

The place was bright, almost blinding to look at. A smell of fresh lilies permeated the place. Joy hung in the air.

It almost seemed like heaven._ A very familiar heaven._

Sasuke gently picked himself up and looked around, although his mind knew he should be more alert, it seemed his body disagreed, for he found himself relaxing.

Sasuke felt giddy, happy and most of all content.

"_This place…it reminds me of my childhood….with Itachi….."_

The raven head closed his eyes and breathed in, that's when he heard something; the sound of panting.

Treading carefully, the last Uchiha made his way to the source.

Upon nearing the spot, Sasuke slowed down and paused to blinked.

In the midst of the clearing stood a small raven haired child; Sasuke Uchiha. But _this_ Sasuke appeared to be the complete opposite of the older one. The younger one seemed to emit joy and naiveté while the older one…..well, the older Sasuke gives a whole new meaning to the word _dark_.

Sasuke continued to stare dumbly.

"_What is going on here? Why are there two of me?"_

Sasuke decided to simply observe for now, he peered closer. His eyes widened when he saw that his younger self was throwing something; a kunai. The younger Sasuke seemed to be _practicing_.

As Sasuke inched closer, he heard voices,

"_Itachi is a genius….really one of a kind"_

"_The Uchiha clan has produced a prodigy ….his name is Itachi Uchiha"_

"_Sasuke, you _must_ become more like your aniki"_

As Sasuke watched his younger self trying to hit his target, Sasuke couldn't help but be reminded of his past; he would always strive to be better than Itachi. Back then Sasuke was tired of being the shadow of his prodigious older brother; people never seemed to be interested in him at all.

And just like that he understood, he smirked,

"_So this is what that idiotic fox was talking about earlier….so this is what my past selves' mind looks like, huh...?"_

Now that he knew, he became aware of the more subtle undercurrents of frustration and envy in the air, but the emotion drowning out everything else was an overwhelming sense of adoration.

Standing in own his mind observing his own self allowed him to see exactly what had urged Itachi to consider him naive and immature in the past; it was his inability to think for himself_, his inability to recognize himself._

As Sasuke gazed upon his younger self, he could see the frustration there but how could he help?

All of a sudden, a certain incident came to his mind,

"_Sasuke-teme! Don't you dare underestimate my tailed beast mode! Do you have any idea how difficult it was?!I bet you could never overcome _your _hatred like I did!"_

_At his curious look, the blonde had elaborated,_

"_Overcoming your inner hatred is the first step to reach this mode"_

"_Hn.I could do it easily too, Dobe"_

"_Teme! You can't beat hatred; the only way one can overcome hatred is by acknowledging it as a part of you, accepting it"_

Back then Sasuke had scoffed at the blonde and just ignored him but now, he understood what the blonde meant.

Smirking in his trademark manner, Sasuke strode forward; his younger self was struggling to breathe, frustration evident in his eyes.

He walked up to him, ignoring the fear he saw in his own onyx eyes when he neared his younger self and…..simply flicked him on the forward.

The younger Sasuke stared at the older one,

"_Who are you….?"_

Sasuke simply smiled, a genuine smile,

"It's aright brat, you don't have to do this anymore, YOU ARE SASUKE UCHIHA, a proud member of the Uchiha clan, there is no need for you to push yourself anymore…."

Sasuke let his chakra flow into his younger self; _his _chakra infused with his own abilities, weaknesses and most of all his own _self._

The younger apparition looked at him wide eyed,

"_You don't have to run behind Itachi anymore…"_

As Sasuke watched, the feelings of envy and dissatisfaction began to dim from the air, his younger self was fading, or perhaps _merging_ would be the right word, with the older one.

As his last conscious thought faded away, Sasuke uncharacteristically found himself chuckling,

"_I owe you one for this, Dobe"_

…

Someone was shaking him.

Sasuke wrenched open his eyes to find his…mother staring down at him.

Not noticing his sudden pallor, Mikoto Uchiha glanced at him worriedly,

"Is something wrong, Sasuke? You don't usually sleep for so long" she enquired, her onyx eyes clearly showing concern.

Sasuke for his part simply stared at her, his mind refusing to comprehend the fact his mother was beside him, alive, breathing.

"_Is this a genjutsu…..? Or maybe some trick of some sort?"_

Obviously sensing his restlessness, Mikoto grew more concerned; she placed her cool palm against Sasuke's forehead.

"This _is_ real" Sasuke thought.

He forced his still sleep riddled mind to remember where he was before he woke up.

Almost at once, his eyes widened further,

"_The jutsu…..?It was a success?"_

He turned his gaze to look at his mother, who was looking at him with a tender expression,

"_We succeeded! I am in the past!...this _is_ my mother..."_

Almost without knowing it, a solitary tear escaped his eye.

His mother unfortunately took this as a sign of some distress and panicked,

"Sasuke?! What is the matter?! Speak to me, Sasuke!"

The raven head realizing his folly, immediately wiped it and spoke,

"No-nothing is wrong, mom, I'm fine, something just went into my eye, that's all"

His mother, though did not look entirely convinced,

"Are you sure, Sasuke? You don't have to lie if you're in pain, it's alright"

Seeing his mother in the flesh, looking at him with such an expression, almost broke him but he composed himself.

"I'm alright, mom, I was just...tired "

His mother didn't seem to notice his slip, thankfully, for she stood up and smiled,

"Well, it's alright then, finish dressing and come to the kitchen, I have the breakfast ready for you"

Sasuke internally breathed a sigh of relief and was just about to get up when his mother spoke again,

"Sasuke, I forgot to ask you yesterday, where is the book I asked to get?"

Even as his mind wondered what his mother was talking about, his mouth answered immediately,

"It's in the kitchen's cupboard"

After a moment, Mikoto replied in affirmative confirming this data.

"_How did I know that? I didn't know about any book…."_

Sasuke was lost in thought as dressed but he noticed one thing; everything seemed much bigger than he remembered.

As he finished dressing, he walked out to the kitchen. His mother was already standing there cooking something.

Sasuke sat down and started eating, all the while wondering if he was wrong and this _was_ a dream.

"Good morning, Sasuke" a deep voice greeted.

On hearing this voice, Sasuke froze.

He raised his eyes to find his aniki smiling at him in his benevolent manner; Itachi Uchiha.

Even though he knew he would meet _him_, he underestimated the emotional effect it would have on him. His beloved aniki, Itachi, was standing before him in the flesh.

If meeting his dead mother was a shock then meeting Itachi nearly knocked him out.

Staring at his Itachi's benevolent face reminded him of all his failures. The man who had accepted hatred in the place of love for being a pacifist, the man who understood what true peace was, the man who gave up everything in the name of peace and love, now stood before him, a light amusement playing in his eyes, looking at him with genuine love.

"_I will always love you…Sasuke"_

Seeing Sasuke's suddenly pale face, Itachi's expression changed to that of concern,

"Sasuke, is something wrong?"

Once again Sasuke forced himself to focus; he simply shook his head and returned to stare at his food, though he could see that both his mother and Itachi were suspicious.

Seeing that staying for long will result in him completely breaking down, Sasuke quickly swallowed his food and stood up,

"Mom, can I go outside?"

For some reason, both the listeners were surprised on hearing this,

"Sasuke, why do you want to go outside?"Itachi enquired.

Sasuke blinked,

"_Why are they treating me like a toddler….?"_

Nonetheless, Sasuke answered,

"Hmm….I simply want to take a walk, that's all"

Both his brother and mother exchanged glances before his mother acquiesced,

"Alright Sasuke, but be back by 3, understood?"

Sasuke ,though confused by the over protectiveness, simply nodded and practically fled, all the while he could feel his brother's calculating gaze on his back.

Once outside Sasuke let out a deep breath and let his feet carry him passively. He knew he had to find his friends but right now his mind was too overwhelmed; he had to de-stress first.

As he walked, his mind wandered to those weird memories he remembered on being asked about the book,

"_It almost felt like my body _was _doing it for me…..to help me"_

He sighed and stopped and to his surprise he found himself standing on the banks of the river he used to train by.

Despite himself, he smiled nostalgically,

"_The place where I mastered my first ninjutsu technique…."_

Still smiling he gazed into the river's mirror like surface and froze.

And then he did something very un-Uchiha,

He screamed.

….

Shika's side:

Shika liked sleeping, especially in a warm and windy place, like a terrace where the clouds would shield him from the worst of the sun and at the same time allowed him to engage in his favorite past time; cloud watching.

So naturally when he opened his eyes to find himself in such a place; he immediately thought he had died and gone to paradise. But thankfully, his mind was still functioning and he figured that this was some sort of an illusion.

"Kai" he muttered but to his surprise nothing changed.

"_So this is real after all…."_

He picked himself carefull, and decided to walk around a bit.

The terrace was beautiful, the sun seemed to warm up the entire place, the clouds drifted lazily in the sky.

Despite himself, he drew a deep breath, struck by the sense of nostalgia that hung in the air,

"_This place…..this can only be my mind, no other place can look this 'me'…but how?"_

Almost immediately Kurama's voice sounded in his head,

"_No, you just have to match the types not the amount; if your past emotions are darker then you will have to get rid of this darkness and establish your chakra instead. Light and dark cannot coexist."_

Shika sighed,

"What a drag…..now how do I do it? Maybe releasing my chakra will give me a hint"

He let his chakra flow into his surroundings, almost immediately; he saw that a young child was materializing before him.

Without even looking Shika knew that it was _him,_ the child was lying down and appeared to be sleeping but Shika knew better.

As he stared at his smaller self, he understood what Kurama meant.

When he was younger he had everything but lacked one very important thing; his purpose, he never understood the logic of a dream and thus continued to simply _exist_. Even as he stared t Naruto's exuberant face when he proclaimed his dream to the world, _he never understood_.

But when Asuma-sensei left him and entrusted his 'king' to him, he found his purpose; _it was to protect the children, nurture them and set their paths for them._

Shika smiled and walked to his younger self, who continued to pretend, and plopped down next to him and stared at the clouds.

"_Hey brat, You don't have to worry…..what you're searching for…..you'll find it eventually….."_

Shika whispered without opening his eyes,

"…_..just never give up"_

The moment he uttered those words, he could feel the change in the chakra surrounding him.

He felt his younger self disappearing, his own chakra taking over.

He knew he had succeeded when he heard the words,

"_Thank you…."_

…..

Shika opened his eyes and for the second time that day he found himself in a really wonderfully warm and comfy place.

He sat up and looked around and to his surprise found that he was sitting in his favorite place; the oak tree that stood in the forest behind the academy.

"_This tree…it was destroyed the year I became chunin…but how..?"_

As if in reply, his memories of the previous day rushed back to him.

"_So this is the past..?We succeeded..?"_

Feeling the anticipation bubbling inside him, he promptly jumped off and ran towards the village.

When he reached there, the view took his breath away, his village stood right before him, looking as glorious as ever.

He walked dazedly through the streets, his eyes resembling that of a new born seeing everything the first time.

Everything, absolutely _everything,_ looked beautiful. There were no screams of agony or hopeless looks, there was only laughter and joy, there were no ruins or corpses, only people chatting and living happily.

He drank in the sights greedily. This was his village, his home, his leaf.

He was so preoccupied that he didn't notice that he had walked straight into someone, resulting in both of them falling down,

"I'm sorry, I was just preoccupied" Shika apologized not paying attention to the other person,

"It's alright; I was partly at fault as-"

Shika froze,

"_That voice…..is it….?"_

"Shikamaru?! Why are you up so early, don't you usually sleep at this time?" asked Choji Akimichi, his trademark packet of food in his right hand.

Seeing his _dead_ best friend, Shika struggled to maintain his bored expression,

"I just thought of taking a walk, that's all"

If Choji had been anywhere near as observant as Shikamaru, he would have instantly picked up on the tightness in his friend's gestures and the obvious tension in his body language, but since he wasn't, all was well.

He just nodded, still munching on his food.

Now that the initial shock of seeing his friend passed away, he noticed another important thing, his best friend looked _small_, not the flattering kind but the _real _ eyes widened.

_"No...it couldn't be..."_

"Choji, how old are we?" he asked urgently, gripping his friend's shoulder,

Choji looked taken aback at having been asked such a question,

"Please Choji, just tell me!"

"We're 3 yrs old, of course!"

On hearing these words, Shika froze,

"Shikamaru, are you alright? You are acting really strange today…"

But he recovered quickly,

"I'm…fine, Choji…I'm fine"

"But then why did you suddenly ask me our age?" Choji asked innocently,

"I was just confirming something" came the somewhat hesitant reply.

Choji seemed to accept his answer,

"Well, I guess its okay then…. so want to come with me for barbecue?"

Shika, though still dazed, couldn't help but smile at his friend's obsession with food,

"Sorry Choji, I have something to do, may be sometime later tomorrow?"

"But you-"

"My treat"

As Shika expected, this seemed to pacify his food loving friend,for he promptly nodded,

"Fine, I'll meet you tomorrow, don't forget about this promise!" Choji waved his goodbye.

Shika just chuckled and waved back.

_Some things never change….even in the past._

Once Choji was out of sight, Shika sighed,

"_What a drag…..we're back to being 3 yr olds again….."_

And then,

"_I wonder if Naruto and Sasuke have realized it yet.…"_

Suddenly, 2 very _familiar_ screams pierced the peaceful afternoon atmosphere,

"AAAAHH!WHY DO I LOOK LIKE A LITTLE KID!?"

Shika sighed,

"_I guess that answers my question…"_

Shika began lightly jogging to the voice of his two moronic yet precious comrades,

"_So troublesome…..but I guess I have no choice…..after all, we've got the world to save..."_

* * *

Hope you guys enjoyed it!

Take care!


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